Lifestyle as Medicine: Simple Shifts, Profound Healing
by Patricia A. Muehsam, MD, New York City
We tend to think of medicine as pills and procedures, or maybe supplements and superfoods. But the truth is, one of the most powerful forms of medicine is something we often overlook — our lifestyle. How we live, day to day – how we wake up, move through the hours, relate to others, and wind down – affects everything. It can be healing or harmful. It can keep us well, or quietly wear us down.
Lifestyle is medicine. And the prescription is surprisingly simple:
Take a break.
Do a little less.
Move your body.
Get outside.
Play.
Stop multitasking (really).
This might sound too easy to be “real medicine.” But both ancient healing traditions and modern science say otherwise. In fact, lifestyle medicine is more powerful than a physician’s prescriptions. If you’ve got a health issue, if you’re feeling anxious, depressed, or something else, lifestyle is your medicine.
Here’s how you can make lifestyle your medicine, in gentle, doable, powerful ways:
✦ Balance Your Day
We live in a culture that celebrates productivity and busy-ness — a culture that often confuses worth with output. But our bodies and minds weren’t designed to run non-stop. We’re wired like nature itself: with cycles. Just as the sun rises and sets, your inner world needs periods of activity and periods of rest.
We need a mix of activity and rest — for both body and mind. But most of us don’t rest until we’ve hit the wall. We push through, caffeinate, multitask, and crash. This keeps our nervous systems in a chronic state of overdrive, which prevents us from healing, digesting, sleeping… even thinking clearly.
When you move through your day with balance – balancing activity with true rest for both mind and body – you’re not being lazy or unproductive. You’re honoring your biology. You’re helping your nervous system reset, allowing your body to repair, digest, and heal.
Take cues from babies, dogs, cats. They rest when they’re tired, play when they feel like it, and stop when they’ve had enough. They honor their needs. They’ve got lifestyle medicine down. We can learn from them.
✦ Make Breaks Sacred
Even small pauses matter. One of my patients once told me she had zero time to rest during her workday. Her lifestyle was making her sick and keeping her sick. So we started small: I suggested she sit in the bathroom stall at work for two minutes every hour. Not to go to the bathroom – just to sit, close her eyes, rest her head on her lap, and belly breathe. She did it. Every hour, on the hour.
At first, it felt silly to her. But within a week, she noticed she was less frazzled. Her anxiety softened. Her body felt calmer. And over time, her energy improved, and the health issues she was dealing with left her— not because she was doing more, but because she was finally giving herself permission to pause. That tiny daily ritual changed everything. Little breaks = big medicine.
✦ Single-Task to Heal Your Brain
We wear multitasking like a badge of honor. We chop vegetables while answering texts, listen to podcasts while scrolling emails, walk down the street while glued to our screens.
It feels efficient, but science says otherwise. Research shows that multitasking stresses the brain, decreases productivity, increases anxiety, and over time, even changes the structure of our brain — in ways that harm focus, clarity, and memory.
Multitasking is, quite literally, brain damaging. Doing one thing at a time — with your full attention — isn’t just more effective, it’s healing. It brings your nervous system into a parasympathetic state (the rest-and-restore mode). It gives your mind a break from the constant split-attention. Try monotasking. Eat without distractions. Walk without your phone. Even just breathe and be where you are. The simplicity of full presence can be deeply nourishing.
Doing one thing at a time, with full presence, is powerful medicine. Especially when that “one thing” is simply walking or breathing.
✦ Get Outside, Touch the Earth
Modern life often separates us from nature. We live under artificial light, walk on concrete, and spend more time looking at screens than skies. But our bodies are still wired for the rhythms of the earth.
Sunlight, moonlight, fresh air, the feeling of bare feet on grass — these aren’t luxuries. They’re biological necessities. They regulate your circadian rhythms, stabilize your mood, reduce inflammation, and reset your stress response. Walking barefoot on the grass, digging in the soil, hugging a tree (yes, really) — this isn’t woo-woo, it’s supported by scientific research. Science has even coined a term for being connected to nature: earthing. Earthing has been shown to decrease systemic inflammation, lower blood pressure, improve sleep, and calm the nervous system.
City-dweller? Even looking at images of nature can help. Your brain doesn’t know the difference. Your body does better when it’s connected to nature – and so does your mind. It’s ancient medicine. And it’s always available.
✦ Move Your Body… Your Way
I’m not fond of the word exercise. It’s loaded with “shoulds.” So instead, I think of it as minding the body — giving your body the movement and attention it needs in ways that feel good. Move it, stretch it, use it in ways that feel good — and only in ways that feel good..
Love to dance, garden, clean your house to music? That counts. Walking in silence, even slowly – that counts too. Presence is what makes movement medicine. And ignore what mainstream medicine and the fitness movements tell you about what and how much exercise you should be doing. It’s not correct. What’s best for your body is unique to you. The right kind of movement is what feels good and brings you joy.
The no-pain-no-gain mentality? It’s not helpful — and often harmful. It can actually make you hold onto weight or even gain weight, it can worsen health issues. Instead, tune in. Some bodies thrive with intensity; others need something gentler. Your constitution knows what’s best.
The key? Presence. When you're fully in the moment – moving, stretching, being with your body – that’s when movement becomes medicine.
✦ And Yes… Play. Every Day.
Play is a medicine that many of us have forgotten. And it’s not optional. It boosts immunity, lowers stress, lowers your blood pressure, and activates the rest-and-digest part of your nervous system. Play reconnects you with joy. And joy is healing. We need play every day – even a little bit.
Play can be anything that makes you laugh, smile, feel silly or spontaneous. It could be dancing in your kitchen, watching a comedy, doodling in a notebook, or having a deep belly-laugh with a friend. If you’re feeling stuck and play feels elusive, just observe little kids. Or puppies. They’ve got play as medicine figured out.
Lifestyle as Medicine begins with presence. Living your life as medicine starts with one simple practice: presence. Check in. Ask: what do I need right now? Not what should I do – but what would nourish me in this moment? If you’re tired, rest. If you’re overwhelmed, pause. If you’re feeling stuck, move a little. And always, always be kind to yourself as you explore. No judgment. No “shoulds.” Just small, gentle steps toward ease.
And remember, you’re exactly where you need to be. And from here, everything is possible. It’s from being here now, in this very moment, that well-being arises and healing happens.
Dr. Patricia A. Muehsamis a pioneering physician and award-winning author. Her book Beyond Medicine won the 2023 Nautilus Gold Medal. Founder of Transformational Medicine™, she offers health consultations, mind-body healing sessions, online courses, and communities of support. Having been a patient herself, she understands firsthand the challenges of illness and healing beyond conventional medicine. Dr. Muehsam’s work empowers individuals to embrace a new paradigm of health—one that honors the profound connection between the body, mind, and spirit. www.transformationalmedicine.org
